As is well known, diesel, gas and steam engines of the reciprocating type typically convert the linear piston motion into rotary motion by utilizing piston(s), connecting rod, and crankshaft. This conversion process obviously creates a substantial piston side load which requires oil lubrication to control friction and wear of the piston skirt and cylinder and a substantial and heavy engine case. To prevent oil breakdown and loss of lubricity the cylinder wall and piston side walls and rings generally are maintained at a temperature that is below a maximum of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Typically, these engines must incorporate a cooling system that serves to reject at least 25 percent of the total heat energy which is dissipated into the ambient air which energy would otherwise provide shaft horsepower.
As will be described in more detail hereinbelow, the engine of the present invention, unlike what is shown in the prior art, floats the piston in the cylinder with a cushion of air by absorbing the side loads that would otherwise load the pistons at locations remote from the piston. Unique to the engine of this invention is the use of air feed tubes made from a compliant material that keep the piston ring concentric to the piston and supply air to the integral piston ring depressions to hydrostatically compress the piston ring relative to the cylinder and continuously float the piston and piston ring on pockets of pressurized air. The engine of the present invention also uses a unique bearing pack connected to a four bar linkage arrangement and cam to transmit power and reduce side loads to the piston. The engine of the present invention also uses a unique jumper system for the purpose of storing base compression air which is pressurized for use in purging the combustion chamber of combusted materials and supply preheated air to the combustion chamber prior to combustion. The engine of the present invention also has a unique power cylinder that distributes heat of combustion along the length of the cylinder to allow higher operating temperatures in the power cylinder.
One of the inventors of the present invention is the inventor of U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,383. This patent discloses the use of an air bearing system that relies upon pressurized air provided by a base compression cylinder that is co-annular to the power cylinder. The '383 patent also employs a four bar linkage system, but the disclosed system is rather complex to replicate in a working engine and doesn't provide the benefits of the unique four bar system of the present invention. The '383 patent also doesn't employ a power cylinder that manages heat to allow higher temperatures to be used in the combustion chamber and power cylinder as does the engine of the present invention. Other improvements are disclosed and claimed in the present application that are not taught or suggested in the '383 patent which are patentable over the '383 patent when considered either individually or in combination with other related technologies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,567 granted to A. Lowi, Jr. on Dec. 27, 1994, discloses a two-stroke-cycle engine that requires no cooling and utilizes twin double-harmonic cams that claim to balance reciprocating and rotary motion at all loads and speeds so as to obviate all side loads. As will be more fully detailed hereinbelow, the present invention makes no claim to the ability of operating without lubrication, Although the engine of the present invention does not require oil as a lubricant for the pistons as is the case for most piston engines it does use air as a lubircant. It also utilizes a four bar linkage system to reduce side loads. Still further, the present invention employs unique seals to seal and absorb the slight side loads that may be encountered by the pistons of the engine.
Other patents that utilize opposing pistons and harmonic types of cams but do not incorporate a linkage system for minimizing or eliminating side loads are U.S. Pat. No. 2,076,334 granted to E. B. Burns on Apr. 6, 1937, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,788,140 granted to L. M. Woolson on Jan. 6, 1931.
Also disclosed in the prior art are a number of patents that utilize a gas for lubrication rather than oil. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,974 granted to Shapiro et al on Jun. 26, 1984, utilizes gases generated in the engine to hydrostatically support the piston rings. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,326 granted to I. Kubo on Jul. 21, 1987, utilizes engine gasses to support the piston rings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,104 granted to Davison, Jr. on Sep. 5, 1978, utilizes engine gases to support the piston and U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,722 granted to K. W. Lenger on Dec. 11, 1973, discloses a ringless piston with air for reducing friction.